Martyn Lawrence Bullard is one of Hollywood's hottest designers, Bullard's little black book is chock full of A-listers, including Cher

Bullard designed Cher's living room to be calming oasis of creamy white upholstery set on pristine stone flooring. Occasional shots of pink are delivered via Phalanopsis orchids.

Photograph by: Tim Street-Porter

Los Angeles - We're secreted on the rooftop terrace at Soho House, a cool-as-you-like private members' club, where the atmosphere is electric The evening is unusually clear (L.A. can be so foggy at this time of year) and, from the perilously high perch, we're peering down over Tinseltown in all its glossy splendour.

Sipping Cosmos (and trying hard not to stare at True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard, who's sitting at a nearby table) we watch as another guest gestures toward a tall white tower while explaining to his partner that Cher has a residence on a high floor. Damn it, if we only had binoculars we could see if she's in residence. Jeez! Might she be sporting a flamboyant wig, fishnets and enough plumage to make a peacock blush? Cos that's what Cher does, right? Yup, even when relaxing at home. As major fans (come on; it's in our genes) we can't help fantasize about her towering city pad riot of colour? A grand palace of hedonistic glamour featuring great slabs of colour and more glitz than Liberace on steroids? Hmm. Our vivid imaginations run wild.

Called by the maitre d' to step inside and enjoy dinner, we battle a path through the bustling crowd while pledging that somehow, somehow, we'll discover precisely how Cher lives. Come hell or high water, we'll satisfy our curiosity and unravel the mystery of the chanteuse in her natural habitat. Yup, we'll figure it out. Somehow.

Spool forward a few days and we're back in Toronto, the balmy warmth of L.A. a distant memory. Wrapped up against biting temperatures, we're Googling L.A. designers (for a column in a British magazine) and as we scroll through footage, we stumble across the Bravo hit Million Dollar Decorators. Captivated, we stare at the screen as one protagonist jumps out, head and shoulders above the rest. Attracted, initially, by Martyn Lawrence Bullard's British accent — but ultimately by the stunning interior he fashioned on the show for Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne — we page through his pedigree and swoon. Subsequent research reveals that Christina Aguilera, Kid Rock and Sigourney Weaver are also clients. Blimey — his little black book is like a veritable bible of A-listers, a style-hungry coterie who flock to him for salvation.

We also discover, by his hand, Live, Love and Decorate, a beautifully photographed interior tome and, licking its virtual pages, we learn that it contains "at homes" with Elton John, and, wait for it. Cher. Bingo. We've got her. We knew we would!

A few calls later, we track down Bullard's publicist and, after a little negotiation, arrange an interview to discuss the book. And, of course, the pictures of Cher's Hollywood bolthole. The time arranged for 8 p.m., we settle in our living room and wait, anxiously, for his call. 7:58. 7:59. 8:00. At the exact moment the new hour dawns, our iPhone buzzes and Bullard's — very British — voice says "Hello." British? Yup, Hollywood's hottest designer moved to America some 18 years past, initially chasing a career as an actor but, like many before him, found the streets are not, in fact, paved with gold. As far as the acting fraternity is concerned, certainly.

It transpires our quarry is calling from Villa Swanson (his home in the Hollywood Hills) a beautiful pile constructed by Rudolph Valentino and once owned, as its name suggests, by Gloria Swanson. Bullard, we quickly learn, is an effervescent bombshell (beside whom we seem tame by comparison) although he concedes he's a little fatigued having just arrived back from an Australian press trip. Talking at a million miles an hour — and clearly thrilled by the way in which his new TV career has buoyed an already successful design practice — he's effusive charm personified. We chat first of common denominators (we've a mutual friend in design juggernaut Kelly Hoppen) then of an illustrious pedigree that has established him as Hollywood's "go to" designer for those who appreciate unabashed luxury.

His big break, it turns out, came when a movie producer asked him to help decorate a new office. With a lilt in his voice, Bullard explains: "I was given a strict budget of $30,000. Hell, these days I can spend that much on a pair of lamps!" A subsequent invitation to the same producer's wedding birthed an introduction to supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. "I ended up sitting beside her and, as the evening developed, she asked me for help with her home. And, of course, it would have been rude to have said no."

Quickly, Bullard's career blossomed as one exciting assignment led to another. "The secret to being a great designer is never forcing my own tastes on clients. Sure, there are those who need steering, but I'm more of a facilitator, working through, and then achieving, elements like colour, pattern and period; all the things that make people tick." Intrigued, we ask if he has a signature look? A moment's hesitation and then: "Some people imagine I'm all about bold, full throttle colour, though that's not always the case. I prefer to remember 'client relevance.'" And of course it's this quest for 'client relevance' that captures the (very personal) essence of Cher's West Hollywood home.

For those who admire our subject's bolder front, Cher's home may come as a surprise. Sure, Bullard's dramatic craft is the stuff of legend, but the esthetics witnessed in the 3,000 square foot duplex are decidedly lower key than some you may have enjoyed during Million Dollar Decorators. Bullard, however, masters both sides of the designer coin with equal aplomb. You only have to look at Elton John and husband David Furnish's Hollywood condo (also featured in Live, Love and Decorate) to confirm this assertion — embellished with green lacquered walls, the whimsical abode boasts mirrored cabinetry, bold artwork and strident decorating throughout. And how, as clients, were they? "David and Elton are great friends and a joy to work with. Elton's a fervid collector of all things gorgeous and David's a font of knowledge when it comes to art and art history."

But back to Cher. What was her brief? "She explained that she wanted to feel like the first wife of a Maharajah! She wanted an Indian fantasy and she certainly didn't want colour to pervade. She's much more about restraint, tone on tone and texture." When we ask about dedicated spend to re-version the condo, Bullard explains that with Cher there is no such thing as budget. "It's not that she'd scatter cash, she just didn't want the final vision to be undermined by cutting corners. She's obviously very clever with money. God knows she's worked hard enough to get where she is today." And was she involved in the design? "Oh you have no idea! She was across every idea, every sample, every product, everything. She'd be coming home after crazy long days and I'd be grabbing whatever time I could to run through plans. She'd be in bed when I'd arrive but I'd simply climb up with her and show her wallpaper, photos of items I'd sourced and reams and reams of fabrics."

Cher's living room is actually fairly simple — a calming oasis of creamy white upholstery set on pristine stone flooring. Occasional shots of pink are delivered via Phalanopsis orchids but it's here that colour stops. "As I said, Cher's more about restraint."

Restraint? Cher?

"Certainly where her homes are concerned. I decorated her other place in Malibu and when I got my hands on that it was dark and Gothic. Now completed, it's a Moroccan Balinese fusion. I have to say she's a dream client. She really understands décor, she just doesn't have the time to do it herself. I've always said that if Cher wasn't, well, Cher, she'd have made a fantastic interior designer."

In the massive bedroom, against a wall of 18th century archways harvested from a dismantled Rajasthan palace, a large Californian king-sized bed floats on a manicured stone platform. "I secreted mirrors behind the arches," explains Bullard, "and the results magnify perceived scale even further. The whole area was a sequence of smaller rooms but I took every wall down to open it all up."

At the press of a button, we learn, swaths of sheer fabric fall from concealed compartments, effectively soft focusing the view both into and from the sleeping area.

Cher's bathroom is similarly restrained, but enjoys indulgences such as a large stone clad tub and a slick mirrored vanity area.

Scanning the imagery, visions of ostrich feathers being attached to head gear and lashes as big as tarantula's course through our minds. We imagine Cher in reflection as she pulls on those famous fishnet stockings or perhaps one of her clingy leather cat suits. There's certainly space for a grand performance in this elegant wash zone, and it's a room of which Bullard is justifiably proud. "I laboured for an eternity on all the finishing details that bring it alive. Cher says it's her sanctuary, a spa-like haven where she feels nothing but peace."

Our time drawing to a conclusion, we ask Bullard about plans for the future. "I'm working on a castle owned by Evgeny Lebedev, proprietor of The Evening Standard and The Independent, and I'm spokesperson for the Jaguar XJL." So busy times ahead? "It's what keeps me going. That and my own fabric, wallpaper and furniture lines and a range of rugs and French oak flooring."

Does he ever rest?

"Erm, rarely. Work is my fuel. Season two Million Dollar Decorators airs in the autumn and I'm launching a TV show in Britain at the same time". Could it transpire that, if Cher called upon his services for a third time, he might actually be too busy to oblige? "Are you crazy? We're a match made in heaven! I understand her schedule, and she understands mine. She's been a huge ambassador for everything I've achieved thus far. I'll always find time for Cher. And, for that matter, for all my clients. They're the ones, after all, who've given me this incredible opportunity."

For more information visit www.martynlawrencebullard.com. Live, Love and Decorate is published by Rizzoli.

Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan are the hosts of HGTV's Colin & Justin's Home Heist and the authors of Colin & Justin's Home Heist Style Guide, published by Penguin Group (Canada). Follow them on Twitter @colinjustin or on Facebook (ColinandJustin). Contact them through their website, www.colinandjustin.tv

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